Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14: And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. 

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing uno the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2: Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4: In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 5: The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 6: O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7: For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8: Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 10: Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 11: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Introduction

As of today the world’s population is 8.2 billion people. This blue planet we call earth is home to billions of worshippers. You may be a strong believer or an atheist, or an agnostic, or a skeptic; you may be religious or non-religious, you may be a church-goer or a non-church-goer, the truth is that you are a worshiper. But do people know it? A great multitude do not know it. And the sad truth is that so many will live and die without discovering what they were made for. 

Paul David Tripp wrote “Human beings by their very nature are worshipers. Worship is not something we do; it defines who we are. You cannot divide human beings into those who worship and those who don’t. Everybody worships; it’s just a matter of what, or whom we serve.”

In the Bible we read …

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

We were made by God and for God. We were made to worship God. We were made to reflect the glory of God. We all come from the womb with the capacity to worship and that’s the reason, from an early age, we begin to worship. Every single person here this morning is someone created with amazing potential and purpose. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

If worship is why God created us then it is not surprising that the Bible is literally filled with acts of worship. From Genesis to Revelation, you see acts of worship recorded to help us understand what worship is and how we may render it. 

This year I invite you on a journey to pursue real worship. And to help us in our pursuit for real worship, I am bringing series of messages on worship. For the last three Sundays, we have been looking at what worship is. So far we have learned that worship is not about location; it’s not about receiving; it’s not about entertainment; and it’s not about escape. We also learned last Sunday that worship is first of all bowing before the presence of God which signifies humility, reverence, and submission. Today consider with me the second description of worship, which is declaring the worth of God.

II - Worship is Declaring the Worth of God

The English word “worship” comes from an old English word that was “worth-ship”. It’s a contraction of two words: worth and ship. It means to ascribe or to declare the worth of something, or to place value in the thing or person being honored. When we come to worship God we come to declare that He is worthy and that He alone is worthy of worship. This is what worship is meant to be. Worship is to declare the worth of God. Worship is, fundamentally, a declaration that God is worthy. Worship declares that God is worthy to be praised, worthy to be confessed, worthy to be preached about, and worthy to be served.

The word “worship” is best used in …

Psalm 29:1 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2: Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Worship the LORD by giving to the LORD glory and strength; by ascribing to the LORD glory due to His Name.

Last week we look at the elders and living creatures in the book of Revelation and we see them bowing down and falling down before the One who sat upon the throne. And these elders and living creatures around the throne model worship for us when they declare the worth of God as they sing, 

Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14: And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. 

Here the heavenly beings cry with a loud voice declaring that the Lamb is worthy. They worship the LORD by ascribing to the LORD glory due to His Name. That’s what worship is! That’s the reason we worship Him! We worship the Lamb because He is worthy.

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. 

No man is worthy of worship; the idols and graven images that man makes with their hands are certainly not worthy. Only God is worthy of worship. 

How do we declare the worth of God? 

How do we declare that God is worthy of worship? Do we declare His worth with our words or with our actions? Which one would you prefer? A dad who tells you are special or a dad who actually shows up at every important event in your life? Which one would you prefer? A husband who gives you “I love you” card on your wedding anniversaries or a husband that honors you and respects you and never cheats on you? If you are like every other normal person you want both, right? Of course we want the words and the actions. This is also the case with God. The worship God desires and deserves must be expressed both in words and in actions. 

We declare the worth of God with our lips and with our lives. We declare that He is worth than anything else with our words and our actions.

1. With our lips

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2: Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4: In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 5: The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 

This is what the elders around the throne in Revelation 5 model for us as they sing, 

Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Deuteronomy 32:3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

Psalm 100 is a beautiful Psalm that is God-centered as it calls us to worship. We shout to the Lord. We worship the Lord. We come with gladness before Him. We sing our songs unto Him. 

Isaiah 40:9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 

Psalm 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8: I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. 9: I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. 10: I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

This is how we declare the worth of God – it’s by proclaiming God’s righteous acts, His lovingkindness and His truth in the great assembly either through preaching or teaching or singing or testimony. Our lips are not sealed when it comes to declaring God’s glory.

Psalm 119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13: With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2: For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

Psalm 109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

The Psalmist made a choice and is determined to praise the LORD greatly and to do it in front of many people.

Psalm 145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2: Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Ronald Allen declared that the essence of worship is the celebration of God. “When we worship God we celebrate Him: We extol Him, we sound His praises, we boast in Him.”

Proclaiming His acts in the assembly prayer, bowing down, kneeling, serving with joy, singing, thankfulness, and praising Him before other acts are all a part of ascribing or declaring worth to the Lord.

2. With our lives

We declare God’s worth not only by our lips but also by our lives. In declaring that God is most valuable to us, our lips and our lives must match. Words and actions must both declare the worth of God. We must not only draw nigh to God with our lips, we must also draw night to Him with our hearts.

Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Someone has said, “There are many in the church today who say, ‘I love and worship Jesus.’ They give intellectual assent to the beauty and glory of Jesus. However, they hold back a part of their hearts for the gods of their culture. They claim to have an altar of worship built to Jesus in their hearts, but close inspection reveals that in their hearts are several other altars.”

Worship tells us what we value most. It’s about what’s most valuable to us. What a person worships is a good indication of what is really important or valuable to him. Worship is all about value. Warren Wiersbe once said, “What people worship is a good indication of what is really valuable to them.” 

So how do you know what’s most valuable to you? The true test of worship is not so much what we say, but how we live. I like what John Wimber said about worship - “Show me where you spend your time, money, and energy and I’ll tell you what you worship.” 

Louie Giglio wrote, “So how do you know where and what you worship? It’s easy. You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your loyalty. At the end of that trail you’ll find a throne; and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship. The trail (beaten path) never lies. We may say we value this thing or that thing more than any other, but the volume of our actions speaks louder than our words.”

So ultimately, worship is more about what we do than what we say. 

Closing Exhortations

In closing, I want us to understand that valuing God supremely in our lives doesn’t mean that we cannot appreciate and enjoy the things God has created nor does loving God supremely mean we cannot love another. Enjoying things and loving people is not sin, but it becomes sin when we make any of these things to be the center of our lives, that they become our greatest desire and greatest joy. When we give any of these things priority over God and His kingdom, we have committed the sin of idolatry. Idolatry is simply valuing things more than God.

1 Corinthians 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Our Lord says in …

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

God is calling you and me to high privilege of worship. 

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2: Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

God is inviting us to discover His infinite worth and giving us the privilege of ascribing greatness to Him and magnifying Him as infinitely worthy. 

Psalm 66:1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2:  Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 3: Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. 4: All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.

Worship should not be a painful ritual or ceremonies that takes place Sunday after Sunday. Real worship is a celebration of who God is and what He has done. It is a glorious declaration of the worth and the greatness of God. Make His praise glorious!

AMEN!